Epsom – Box Hill

This ride is one of the shortest ones I regularly do. It’s only about a 30 minutes train ride from Clapham Junction and the route itself can be done in less than two hours. So if I have spare 3 hours of daylight it’s often my preferred option. The first 6 km are shared with another route on this blog (Epsom – Walton on the Hill – Reigate Hill) but once you get to the top of Ebbisham Lane it becomes a totally different ride.

Starting in Epsom you need to take the road to Epsom Downs Racecourse which is approximately 1.5 km going uphill. From there you cross to the other side of the racecourse and head towards Walton on the Hill. On the top of Ebbisham Lane you turn to the right and in about 200 meters you turn left onto a bridleway to goes down and eventually passes under the M25. Once you arrive to Headley you turn left onto Church Lane and on the first junction you fork right and after that you immediately turn left. At this point you’re entering Headley Warren Nature Reserve until you arrive to the Boxhill village. From there you follow the road leading to the stunning view spot by the Salomon’s Memorial. Those who like to do a bit of extra and unnecessary cycling just follow the coordinates on your GPS device – it’ll take you to a nice downhill that will be followed by a climb to the Memorial. However, if you want to take it easy just follow the road all the way to the Salomon’s memorial and re-join the track from there.

Once you pass by The Old Fort Box Hill you’ll enjoy one of my favourite descends of this route – taking the Box Hill Trail down to B2209. After you hit the bridleway again it’ll be almost a straight ride for about 6 km until you cross over the M25. From there you’ll be heading back to the Epsom Downs Racecourse and Epsom train station.